Dried Blood Spot Specimens Are a Suitable Alternative Sample Type for HIV-1 Viral Load Measurement and Drug Resistance Genotypingn in Patients Receiving First-Line Antiretroviral Therapy

摘要

Background. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) is being administered in developing nations at unprecedented numbers following the World Health Organization’s (WHO) development of standardized first-line drug regimens. To ensure continued efficacy of these drug regimens, WHO recommends monitoring virological responses and development of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) drug resistance (HIVDR) in HIV-infected patients in a prospective cohort. The current study compared dried fluid spot specimens with the reference standard plasma specimens as a practical tool for viral load (VL) and HIVDR genotyping in resource-limited settings.